A Gift for Mum
A Gift for Mum is Stripey Stork’s Mother’s Day campaign. Our aim is to make sure that every Mum referred to us receives a small gift to open on Mother’s Day, to let her know that she is doing a fantastic job. This year, thanks to our amazing community we were able to give out 596 pampering gift sets.
Happy Mother’s Day
We’d like to begin by wishing all the Mums and Carers a very happy Mother’s Day from all of us at Stripey Stork – you are amazing! We know that Mums wear many hats: chef, chauffeur, PA, playmate, confidante, referee…. it’s not always an easy job and Mothering Sunday is the day set aside to celebrate everything that Mums do.
The Mums referred to us don’t have a support network to make sure that they are recognised on Mother’s Day. We know that many are experiencing financial hardship and they wouldn’t dream of spending their stretched budget on themselves. For some Mother’s Day can feel very lonely – particularly for those Mums whose children are too young or too poorly to make a fuss of them.
“To receive a card and gift and feel you have not been forgotten is a moment to treasure. “
This was our ninth Mother’s Day campaign and once again we asked the community to donate a pampering gift set for us to pass on to a mum who is having a difficult time. It is a small gesture but it means so much – it’s an important reminder for Mum to take some time for herself and tells her that everything she does is appreciated.
We know that this campaign resonates with so many of our supporters. Like us, you believe that every Mum deserves to hear that she is doing a fantastic job on Mother’s Day.
“To see the delight on our mum’s faces when they open their gift bags is heart-warming. “ – Referral Partner.
The Little Orange Bags
We set up different ways that people could donate – by purchasing a gift set from our wishlists, donating to the appeal page or by filling a Little Orange Bag with pampering treats and dropping it off at one of our collection points.
A huge thank you to our friends at The Belfry Shopping Centre and Gerrards in Reigate for agreeing to host collection points. The community answered our call – so many of you dropped off orange bags full to the brim with lovely treats.
Some of you got your children involved, and we were particularly moved to receive a note from someone who said that they were donating in memory of their own mum.
We understand that Mother’s Day isn’t just for the Mums either, children get a great deal of joy from being able to present Mum with a gift:
“The children are so excited to surprise their mums.” – Referral Partner.
Thank you to 5th Reigate Rainbows group, 10th Redhill Brownies, 5th Reigate Guides, First Steps Nursery and our friends at Celtic Contractors who all organised collections. We received some lovely donations from our friends at Tropic Skincare, The Beauty Banks and The Hygiene banks too, it is such a treat to be able to include these luxury items in the packs.
Our Supporters
We’re grateful to our long-term supporters at LNRS for donating £500 towards the campaign. Some of the team used their corporate volunteering days to come to the warehouse to help us put together some of the gift bags, they did a great job!
A Special Mother’s Day Card
Every year we print a Stripey Stork Mother’s Day card and this year Reigate Grammar School held a competition to design it. We love this beautiful design by Likhita in Year 4 which was chosen as the winner.
As well as being included in the packs that we give out to Mums, this year the cards were available for sale at Gerrards, Reigate Grammar School, Reigate St Marys and our warehouse, raising money for the campaign. Huge thanks to Year 6 students at Reigate St Marys who sold 58 cards in the playground, raising an impressive £145.65
Remote Volunteering
We include a hand-written card with every gift set, another small way to show Mum that someone is thinking of her. Two of our corporate partners LNRS and Pfizer organised remote volunteering sessions for staff to help us write the cards again this year. It was the second year that LNRS have done this – we think it’s a lovely way to connect their colleagues who are currently working from home and we really appreciate their help.
A Soapy Gift for Mum
Our friends at The Soapy Zebra once again supported the campaign by creating a limited-edition artisan soaps that people could buy with the proceeds going to the campaign.
We’d like to say a huge thank you to all our volunteers and supporters who made this possible.
If you are interested in supporting our campaigns, there are lots of ways to get involved including volunteering, corporate volunteering and fundraising. Our team would love to hear from you: partnerships@stripeystork.org.uk
